Lifesaving defibrillators are in place in two more rural Angus communities including a phone box cabinet conversion for the coronary care kit.
Fowlis Easter and Westmuir are the latest villages to install an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) as the network of emergency devices continues to expand across the district.
The weekend saw St John Scotland provide training to 35 people in CPR and defib at Fowlis Easter hall.
Their defibrillator was purchased thanks to a donation from the Marshall family, a St John Scotland grant and money from the hall committee and user groups.
It will be fully operational within days and checks and maintenance will be undertaken by a guardian group of eight local residents, led by Liz Speedie.
Fowlis Easter Hall convener, Walker Hodgson said “The hall committee is very supportive of the new facility in Fowlis, having provided funding and co-ordinating the installation of the defibrillator.
“We are delighted local residents are working together to ensure the defibrillator will be available for use by the local community should an emergency arise.”
In Westmuir, the newly-refurbished phone box beside the village shop now houses the village AED and a special event will take place later this month to make people aware of the equipment and also give them the chance to learn lifesaving CPR and AED skills.
The launch event will be held at the phone box on July 26, followed by an awareness seminar in the village hall at 2pm, provided by Community Heartbeat Trust.
An attendance list to register for the seminar is available in the village shop and the afternoon will also offer a range of other activities, including educational and fun games for children.
Villagers have thanked Angus Council Communities Team for their support throughout the project. “The village defibrillator team are looking forward to having the opportunity to say a heartfelt thank you to the Westmuir and district community whose generosity made the provision of the AED possible,” said a spokesman.
Around 70 people each week in Scotland will have a sudden cardiac arrest, but currently, only around one in 12 will survive.
By starting CPR as quickly as possible, and using a defibrillator where one is available, survival rates increase significantly.
